Golden Nuggets: Pac-12 Bowl Projections--This Could Get Complicated

We are all thrilled that the Bears are bowl eligible, but determining where the Bears will end up is no easy task.  While bowl projections have been somewhat straightforward in the past, this year we have a new wrinkle:  bowls do not have to send invitations based on the final conference standings.

Assuming no radical changes of form during the rest of the season, including Oregon beating USC, it's likely that the Pac-12 will end up with two BCS teams – Oregon and Stanford. Most projections have those teams currently lined up to play in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio and the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

That leaves Washington, Arizona State, Utah, Cal, and possibly UCLA to battle over the Valero Alamo, Bridgeport Education Holiday, Hyundai Sun, MAACO Las Vegas, and Kraft Fight Hunger Bowls. The Pac-12 won't have any other bowl-eligible teams, if it were able to, then the New Mexico Bowl would come into play.
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The early speculation is that the Alamo Bowl will choose Washington or Arizona State, with the Holiday Bowl getting the other team. One has to think that the Holiday Bowl will hope to get Arizona State, since it hosted Washington the previous year.
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That would leave the Sun, Las Vegas, and Fight Hunger Bowl for Utah, Cal, and UCLA.

Though it is Cal's most likely destination an Emerald Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (I still hate that name) would conflict with the Cal-UCLA basketball game, which is a whole other set of issues.  Check out the article to read about how that might be resolved.  Finally, here's a collection of projections from all over the sports universe.

BOWL PROJECTIONS
	ESPN	ESPN	CBS Sports	SI	Fox
	Schlabach	Edwards	Palm	Mandel	CFN
Stanford	Fiesta	Fiesta	Fiesta	Fiesta	Fiesta
Oregon	Rose	Rose	Rose	Rose	Rose
Arizona St.	Sun	Alamo	Sun	Holiday	Alamo
Cal	Fight Hunger	Las Vegas	Fight Hunger	Fight Hunger	Sun
UCLA	Las Vegas	Fight Hunger	Las Vegas	Las Vegas	Las Vegas
Utah	Holiday	Sun	Holiday	Sun	Fight Hunger
Washington	Alamo	Holiday	Alamo	Alamo	Holiday

After the jump Tedford and Shaw get together for the Big Game Luncheon, Keenan Allen becomes a Biletnikoff finalist, and the Bears open as 20-point underdogs.

Football

• The Bears opened as 20.5 point underdogs, though the line has dropped as low as 18.5 or 19 at some places.
• CalBears.com has video interviews from yesterday's luncheon: Tedford, Justin Cheadle, and Trevor Guyton.  If you're interested in the opponent's perspective, this clip has interviews with David Shaw, Andrew Luck, and Michael Thomas.
• Keenan Allen was named as one of ten semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation's best receiver.
• Stiglich reports from Sunday's practice.  Michael Coley's injury is confirmed as a broken fibula (it certainly looked that way on replay).
• Wilner gives the Bears a B- in the win over Oregon State.  His biggest (and only) complaint is that the Bears wracked up 15 penalties, which negated three TDs.